BEST POLICY (an Uncharming & the Prince Prequel)
by Veritable Old Lady Crow
Summary: Opie Winston used to think it was honesty...
1. DISCLAIMER

**A/N: **This is a sort of **prequel**/**extrasode**-**esque** short story for those reading my teenage Jax & Tara fanfic _**Uncharming & the Prince**_. If you're currently reading **U&TP** you shouldn't read this until you've finished **CH1-53 **or at least **CH46** so you won't be spoiled in any way.

**FYI: **This is dedicated to **_UnemployedBee_** and a few others who felt that after reading Sarah's background story (in _**Uncharming & the Prince**_) that she deserved a better send off then thinking everyone she grew up with hated her.

This is yet another example of your feedback sparking my creativity. The content of this short story wouldn't have even crossed my mind if you guys didn't constantly weigh in on what you've been reading. This was supposed to be about Opie giving Sarah closure but it ended up being more than that.

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing but my **OC's **and the muse that keeps me writing **:-)**


	2. CASTAWAYS

Hope you like it.

**- Veritable Old Lady Crow**

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**FIVE YEARS EARLIER...**

Jackson Teller's twelfth birthday party was in full swing.

There were kids everywhere—at least three for every man in a leather kutte, two for every Old Lady or MC hopeful hanging around with a beer, a shot glass, a cigarette or some combination of the three in their hands.

And somewhere in between all the laughter and games, all the joking, the rough housing and horseplay Opie Winston had completely forgotten about the nasty fight he'd overheard his parents having earlier that day.

Drenching Stephanie Eglee and all the other girls at the party with water proved to be the perfect distraction—it took his mind off the weird look in his mother's eyes when he asked her why she was packing her things and she said she was _going to visit grandma for a few days_.

Launching a tactical assault—chasing Stephanie and Sarah Hale down with water guns with his best friend, the birthday boy by his side was awesome.

It made it hard to focus on how relieved, how completely unbothered his father looked when he watched his wife walk out the door, suitcase rolling behind her.

"Jax! Stop it—_STOPPPP_!" Stacy Wislon screeched, needlessly holding her hands over her already soaking wet hair. The eleven year old girl glared at the handsome blue-eyed boy grinning over at her as he admired his handiwork.

"Relax," Tara said, rolling her eyes as Stacy and the other girls (who were fortunate enough to avoid most of the downpour) ran off.

Jax and Opie's eyes widened at the sound of her voice behind them. But it was too late for either of them to do anything.

Opie turned just in time to see his best friend falling sideways into the nearby picnic table as the green-eyed brunette that pushed him, snatched the water gun from his hand, turning it on Opie before he could react. Water drenched his face as she pumped at the plastic trigger.

"Give me back my gun!" Jax shouted, wrapping his arms around her from behind, struggling with her as Tara giggled, twisting and turning—refusing to let go of the stolen toy no matter how hard he fought her.

"Don't worry, bro," Opie said. He held the water gun in his hand up to Tara's face, laughing at her wide-eyed expression. "_I got this."_

Clearly Tara hadn't noticed that Jax wasn't the _only _armed boy in the Club Reaper parking lot.

But then Opie and Jax also underestimated the fury of little women—and the Hell that would follow after ruining their hair.

Stacy, Stephanie and Sarah charged towards them.

Grabbing two at a time from the large pail in between them, the vengeful girls launched the water balloons in their hands at the two young biker Princes, giving Tara the opportunity to duck out of Jax's grasp, knocking Opie's gun out of his hand as soon as he turned his head to see who was attacking them.

"_Tommy,_" Jax hissed, narrowing his eyes at the little boy hidden behind the height of the large bucket he was balancing against his tiny frame as the girls around him pulled balloons from inside of it. "You're supposed to be on the _guys _team!"

"_Sowwy_," Thomas Teller said, dropping the bucket at his feet, eyeing his old brother sheepishly.

"Don't listen to him, Thomas," Tara encouraged, smiling at the soaking wet boys standing in front of them. "Jax is just mad because he wishes he could be a _ladies man _like you."

"She's right," Stephenie agreed, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek.

"_Wow," _Thomas breathed, his cherubic face taking on a light-pink tint. The blush in his cheeks spread further when Tara squatted down, pressing her lips to his other cheek. "_Wowww."_

"I _am _a ladies man," Jax argued, sticking out his chest.

"That must be why you look someone threw you in a river," Stacy teased. The girls laughed when Opie and Jax snatched both the water guns from Tara quickly, pulling the triggers only to discover that they were both completely empty.

_Well at least they're out of balloons, too, _Opie thought.

"Can we play red light, green light?" Thomas asked, blue eyes flitting around, touching on all of the older kids—his big brother and his friends standing around him.

"Don't you want to go keep Mom Company for a little while?" Jax asked, looking over at Opie as he whispered, "I want to play _booty tag_."

Opie snickered. "Of course you do."

"What's so funny?" Tara wondered, narrowing her eyes as she looked back and forth between the two of them.

"I don't know," Lowell Junior commented, smiling as the girls turned to notice him for the first time. "But whatever they have planned I think I'll like _their _game better."

"You _will," _Jax promised, wriggling his eyebrows.

"Please, please, please?" Thomas begged.

Jax rolled his eyes. "_Fine," _he agreed, shaking his head. "But we're only playing one round and then you go show mom the design you made for your bike."

"I drew one for your bike, too," Thomas exclaimed, a proud smile widening across his face. "It's—"

"It's _awesome," _Jax said, ruffling the little boys head before yelling. "I'M IT!"

"Nuh-uh," Tara disagreed, the girls beside her, nodding their heads in agreement. "You always _cheat."_

"Whose gonna be it then?" Jax questioned. "_You?_"

"I'll do it," Lowell Junior mumbled. It was barely heard over the murmur of multiple others—guys and girls volunteering as the crowd of kids increased.

Tara shook her head. "I want to be it."

"Yeahhhh!" Thomas shrieked.

"No way," Jax argued. "It's _my _birthday—"

"True," Sarah commented, nodding in agreement.

Tara shrugged her shoulders, her green eyes rolling. "So friggin what?"

"How about this," Jax said, a teasing smile on his face. "I'll race you."

"Race me?"

Jax nodded. "The first one to the gate gets to be it. On three…_Ope you count."_

"One…..two…."—before Opie could say three Jax took off.

Tara grabbed the back of his T-shirt.

"See what I mean?" Tara tugged him backwards, running past him as she yelled over her shoulder. "_You always cheat!"_

Jax charged forward. Grabbing on to her elbow, he pulled her back. Running in front of her, Tara stepped on the untied lace of his sneaker making him stop short, colliding with her chest—sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Immediately the crowd of kids—Opie at the front—ran towards them, laughing and pointing as Tara wrestled with Jax on the ground.

Opie laughed as the angry brunette pulled his best friends arms behind his back while Jax laughed, igniting her tantrum even more.

"You made me skin my knee," Tara hissed, sitting on his back.

"TARA!" Thomas screamed. The alarm in his voice had every kid looking down to where he stood in between the crowd—a look of horror on his face as he stared at Tara's leg. "You're bleed—YOU GOT A BLEED! TARA'S GOT A BLEED! SHE'S GOT A—"

Tara immediately rose up off of Jax, the blue-eyed boy following behind her as she walked towards a panic-stricken Thomas, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm okay," Tara told him, dropping down until she was eye-level with him. "It's just a scrape. I'm gonna be fine."

"I swear he can watch any one of us tumble down a flight of stairs and he'll keep watching his cartoons," Jax joked, shaking his head.

Opie nodded as he added, "But let him see even a tiny drop of blood—"

"—and he's screaming bloody murder," Tara finished, giggling as she ruffled his hair. "I'm okay, Tommy. _Promise._"

_"Who's got a _bleed?_" _said a gruff voice.

Opie turned around the same time as everyone else to see his father behind them, smiling at the young, dirty-blonde haired _SAMCRO Prospect _standing next to him.

"I hope you boys aren't playing too rough with the ladies," Herman Kozik teased, winking at Tara.

Opie chuckled under his breath when Jax scowled at the way Tara's cheeks turned red at the gesture. He didn't know what Jax was more jealous of.

The fact that he wasn't as old as Kozik so he couldn't prospect for his father's club.

Or the fact the young prospect had made the girl he _refused_ to admit he had a crush on blush just by winking at her—despite the fact that Tara rolled her eyes at Jax whenever _he _did it to her.

Opie used to wonder why Jax wouldn't just admit that he liked Tara and ask her to be his girlfriend.

But then he found out just how hard Tara could hit.

_He's probably scared she'll punch him._

"It's just a little scratch," Tara explained, obviously downplaying the stinging in her knee for Thomas' benefit. "All I need is a band aid...maybe some _peroxide."_

"Scared of _alcohol_?" Jax teased, sliding out of the way of Tara's elbow as she aimed it towards his side.

"There's a first aid kit behind the bar," Piney commented, clapping his son on the shoulder as he brushed past him. "Harry'll get it for you."

"Uhh….Piney."

Piney turned back to narrow his eyes at the young prospect next to him. "You say something to me, _grunt?"_

"Gemma's glaring a hole in the side of your face," Kozik commented, shrugging. "I'm thinking you should probably see what's up before she….welll…._you know how she gets."_

Piney snorted. "Yeah. I _do _know."

Changing directions Piney headed back towards the clubhouse instead of his bike, yelling over his shoulder. "Come get the Kit for Tara! _Now._"

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Kneeling down, Opie ran his hands along the bottom shelves of the bar coming up empty. The first aid kit obviously wasn't where his father said it was.

"Hey, Prosp—_umm…"_

Kozik looked up, chuckling at the conflicted expression on Opie's face.

"It's Kozik to _you_," Kozik said, pointing at him. "_Kozy _if you're looking to get knocked upside the head. Don't forget I'll be a member by the time _you're _old enough to prospect, kid."

Opie smirked. "You know where the first aid kit is?"

"Try looking underneath the bathroom sink in one of the dorms, sweetie," Luanne Delaney suggested, giggling as her husband Otta picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder as he carried her down the hallway leading to the dorms in question.

"Just not the first one on the left!" Otto Delaney advised.

"This is a _kids_ party!" John Teller shouted after them, shaking his head as he laughed right along with his MC brothers.

"That's why someone invented _locks _for doors," Tig Trager commented, sipping his beer.

Bobby Munson nodded towards the table of women next to the stereo blaring inside the Clubhouse lounge. "Turn that music up. Can't have them scarring the children."

"Too late," Opie mumbled, laughing at the loud thumping and moaning reverberating through the walls of the hallway seconds later as he passed the first door on the left. He was reaching to push the second door the rest of the way open when two familiar voices whispering harshly inside of the room gave him pause.

"_It's none of your goddamn business,_" Piney barked. Opie pushed at the door just enough to make out his father, shoving a finger in Gemma Teller's face. "The only thing you need to concern yourself with is keeping your _own_ family together. Maybe if you focused on _your _husband instead of Mary's my best friend wouldn't be leaving for Belfast every time Club business gives him an excuse!"

"Mary _is _my family," Gemma growled. "And she's tired of putting up with your bullshit. You don't think it was bad enough, her cleaning up your vomit, sticking around while you got drunk every night, knocking back shot after shot—"

"Oh right," Piney spat. "I'm an alcoholic. I guess _that's_ the excuse she's using for bailing on her kid."

"She doesn't need an excuse for anything!" Gemma cried. "And she's not bailing on her kid. You keep testing her patience she's gonna pack her shit and take Opie with her."

"My son's not going _anywhere_," Piney declared. "And I've been telling her for months she was free to go and you know what? She finally made good on her threat. _She left this morning."_

"What?" Gemma's eyes widened. "What the fuck do you mean she _left? _You just let her walk out?"

"It's like you said," Piney replied, shrugging. "She's tired of me. But it's not about me getting drunk every night. It's about the club, Gemma. She's tired of the life. She been wanting out a long time."

Gemma shook her head so hard Opie's own neck started to cramp. "Don't put this shit on _the life _you ungrateful asshole," the matriarch growled. "This is about her being _sick_ and _tired_ of mopping up your _tears. _She got tired of listening to you cry yourself to sleep at night over that uppity _bitch. _The only reason she stayed this long was because I've been telling her to hang in there. I _begged _her to give you a chance. I told her you'd get over it eventually and she stayed. She gave you a chance to fix it and you fucked her over again. And with the same goddamn family."

"What the Hell are you—"

"_Moira Knowles," _Gemma spat, her olive eyes blazing. "It wasn't enough to flaunt your side pussy in your Old Lady's face. Sneaking her in through your backdoor was disrespectful enough. You had to go and bring her _spawn _into the mix!"

"I have no idea—"

"SHE'S NOT YOUR DAUGHTER!" Gemma bellowed, shoving him hard in the chest. "And that Cancer bitch is _dead, _you hear me?"

Opie drew in a sharp intake of breath as he watched his father's hands fly out backhanding Gemma across the face—the slap so hard it drew blood from her bottom lip. Pressing two fingers to her mouth, Gemma dabbed at it, holding her hand in front of her to stare at the scarlet staining her fingertips. Looking back up at the man breathing heavily, his fist clenched at his sides, the matriarch glared at him, angry tears slowly streaming down her face.

"_Rose _was an evil wench," Gemma spat, nostrils flaring. "Your Old Lady? Your _wife? _She wasn't just my best friend….she wasn't just the only female I've ever been able to tolerate for more longer than five minutes without wanting to strangle her. She was the closest thing I've ever had to a... _My mom didn't give a _shit. She didn't lose any sleep when I left. Mary was….she was….she _IS," _Gemma growled, "My _family. _And you've run her off…for no goddamn reason. _She's dead, _Piney. And Tara already has a father. Why the Hell are you carting your mistress's kid around like she's _yours._ Bringing her to Jackson's party? Letting her sleep under Mary's roof? _What the fuck is wrong with you?_"

"You call that asshole a _father?" _Piney barked. "Moira's probably rolling over in her grave knowing who she left to raise her daughter. Tara's got no one—"

"She's got the _Hales_—"

"_Bullshit," _Piney interrupted. "You think that asshole Jacob gives a shit about _someone else's _kid? He barely does right by his own."

"You're full of excuses," Gemma snapped. "You're hanging on to that—"

"My palms are still tingling," Piney threatened. "Don't test me Gemma. I'll work it out with John later if I have to put his Old Lady in her place."

Gemma's laughter was a bitter sound. "I'm out of line for calling _her _out of her name? You think the fact that she only got on her knees for you makes her better than some _croweater?"_

"I'm walking away," Piney announced, stepping back. "Before the decades old relationship I have with my _godson's _father goes to shit because I knocked your fuckin teeth in."

"You need to walk away from _her," _Opie heard Gemma warn him as he backed away from his father's footsteps edging closer to the door. "That Knowles kid is _not _your responsibility. Your priority is—"

"_My son_," Piney barked, turning his head to glare at her. "My son and my _club. _Those are my priorities. Me and Mary used to share them….then she decided she didn't give a shit about either one. _That's _why she left_. _You chase after her if you want. Everyone I love is right here in Charming with me."

"Including that _whore's_ daughter?"

Opie bit into his lip when he saw his father's balled up fist twitch.

Lucky for Gemma he didn't react that way Opie could tell he wanted to.

"That little girl's got no one to love her anymore," Piney said quietly. "Not the way she needs it. Not the way her mother loved her. Her Old man's so twisted up I doubt he knows what day of the week it is half the time. But he'll come around eventually…..he'll…..he'll find a way to work through it….how to go on with...he'll get on without her….and when he does I'll step back. _Not before then. _I'm not leaving Moira's kid out in the cold just because _you _think her mother chased _yours _away. Walking away was Mary's choice. It's like you said. Moira's….she's….she's _dead _so you can't blame her. And trying to put this shit on an innocent little girl is just as fuckin ridiculous. _Let it go, _Gemma. You can either do it voluntarily...or I'll _make _you."

Opie skirted away from the door. Rushing down the hall, he dipped into the room next to it, clicking the door shut behind him—his back against it as he stared across the room absently, a single tear rolling down his face.

The party he was missing outside—all the laughter…the fun and games that had served as a distraction….it was all gone.

All he could think about now was that he was right.

Deep down he'd already known she was lying to him—and now the truth had just been confirmed.

His mother was visiting grandma.

She was leaving.

She left.

She left _him._

And she wasn't coming back.

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"_HAPPY BIRRRRRRRRTHDAY DEAR JACKSONNNNNN! HAPPY BIRRRRTHDAY TO YOU!" _

The triple chocolate cake tasted bland—or maybe his tongue had yet to pick up on the flavor. Maybe his sense of taste was numb along with the rest of his body as he sat outside on the bench alone, mixing the melted ice cream on his plate with the soggy cake as he looked down at the picnic table. No one had even noticed he wasn't inside.

Or so Opie thought.

_"Opie?"_ Tara suddenly appeared, sitting down on the bench across from him—reaching over to brush her hand down his arm until he looked up at her. Opie lifted his head just in time to see Jax plop down next to her, one eyebrow raised in question as he stared at him.

"The party's _inside, _bro," Jax joked. "What's wrong? Lowell finally confess that he was in love with someone else?"

"Shut up," Tara scolded. "Can't you tell he's upset about something?"

_Yeah right, _Opie thought. _That idiot doesn't notice _anyone _else as long as you're around._

"What's wrong, bro?"

Opie shook his head. "Nothing," he lied. "I'm just tired."

Several seconds passed by as Opie locked eyes with his best friend before Jax finally nodded once, reaching for Tara's hand.

"_Come on,"_ he said, returning Opie's measured smile as he pulled Tara to her feet.

"What?" Tara studied the weird smiles on both their faces—confusion marring hers. "No. Jax he—"

"Stop being so _nosey_," Jax teased, smirking at the glare she shot him. "If he wants to tell us about his secret _love_ with LJ he'll do it when he's ready, right, bro?"

"Right," Opie agreed, smirking.

_Thanks, bro._

He didn't say the words out loud as he watched them walk off arm in arm the way they always did despite denying they liked each other.

Opie didn't have to.

Jax knew exactly what he was thinking when he forced the smile on his face as he looked at him.

Just like he knew that whatever Opie was feeling, he'd tell him when he was ready—he always did.

They were best friends after all.

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"You better not be lying you little brat!"

Opie Winston looked up from his lap to see twelve year old Sarah Hale sticking her tongue out, flashing her middle finger at the car pulling off from the curb.

Watching as Jacob Hale Jr. sped down the block, Sarah waited until her brother was out of sight before crossing over from the Knowles front yard—headed over to the Winston's where Opie sat alone on his front steps.

"Hey, Harry."

Sarah's smile faltered when the teenage boy merely nodded up at her instead of jumping up to pull her into a bear hug the way he normally did.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, sitting down next to him. Before the backs of her jeans settled against the red bricks of his front steps, Opie stood up, turning away from her as he headed towards his front door.

"Tara's not home," he told her. "Arthur went off again tonight. She's in my room sleeping."

"Oh."

"Jax doesn't know," Opie told her, narrowing his eyes. "Tara doesn't want anyone to…._shit, _I probably shouldn't have—"

"You really think I would snitch on you?"

_You would to Jax._

"Sorry," Opie said, reaching for his front door knob. "She'll probably wake up if she knows you're here."

"I'll wake her up in a minute," Sarah said, patting the spot next to her on his front steps. "_Sit with me."_

"Why?" Opie asked, as he moved to do what she suggested. "What do you want?"

_What are you up to now?_

"Well I _wanted _to have a girls night," Sarah admitted, patting the bag full of nail polish, makeup and hair accessories in the clear caboose hanging on her arm. "But now I want to know what's wrong with you...you can tell me you know. And _no _I'm not gonna tell Jax."

Opie looked down at the ground. "_My mom left us_," he admitted quietly. "I don't think she's coming back. And…..and….._and I think it's my dad's fault._"

Several minutes passed before Opie could no longer stand not knowing her reaction.

Looking up at Sarah, the haunted look on her face surprised him.

The pain swirling in the grays of her eyes was familiar—he recognized it because it oddly matched his own.

But then her expression changed—Sarah wiped the anguished look from her face so quickly part of him wondered if he'd imagined it.

"Mothers are useless," Sarah huffed, shaking her head as she stared out into the street.

Unconsciously, Opie slid closer to her—his arm pressing against hers as he said, "I know you fight with her a lot but at least she didn't pack her bags and leave you."

_And lie about it._

"I'm gonna tell you something," Sarah said after another few minutes passed. "I never told anyone. Not even Tara." Sarah turned to face him, grey eyes willing him to understand how serious she was being when she quietly demanded, "_You can't tell anyone."_

"Okay," Opie agreed.

"_Gloria's not really my mom._"

Opie angled his body towards her completely, the widening of his eyes temporarily distorting the sadness that had been etched on his face since Jax's birthday party the weekend before. "You're adopted?"

"Nope." The letter 'P' flew past the tight line of her mouth with a distinct _pop _when she uttered the word, the honey-blonde curls framing her face bouncing left and right as she shook her head. "I'm just the Hale family's dirty little secret. Even Davey doesn't know. And if Jake knows he's doing a good job of hiding. I guess Daddy probably told him not to say anything…e_ver."_

There was another pregnant pause.

And then—

"Wow."

As confused as he was, _wow _was the only word Opie could think to say. He hated when people tried to push him to talk. So he waited patiently for her to continue—or change the subject.

Whatever she wanted.

"I know what it feels like to have a mother that doesn't want anything to do with you," Sarah told him, wringing her hands in her lap. "I have _two _of them. My first mom was paid to disappear…to protect the family judge's public image…and the other one tolerates me because she doesn't want her friends to know that her husband cheated on her with his para-_whatever-you-call-it_ and got her pregnant. That would be _awful _for the family image. No way would his career be as _prestigious _as it is if word got out. Lucky for them all they had to do was write her a check and Lynette was more than happy to skip town and leave me behind."

The corners of his eyes stung as Opie managed to widen them even further. "_Lynette?" _Opie half-whispered. "That's—"

Sarah nodded stiffly. "My middle name." She shrugged her shoulders, a bitter smile upturning the corners of her mouth as she stared down at the bottom step. "Knowing my dad the only reason I'm named after her is because it's part of whatever contract they signed….but then again, it's not like Gloria wanted me named after _her…._I was just the baby she came back with after an _extended _visit with her parents when her mother _fell ill _and _Jake was sweet enough to stay with her until she was sure her mom would be okay on her own. _I wish me and Davey could have been born only a few months apart instead of almost a whole year...it would have been _way _more fun pretending I had a twin. They could have said one of us were always hiding behind the other like Stephanie's brothers and that's why they didn't know they were expected _two _babies instead of one."

"I'm sorry, Sarah." Opie wrapped his arm around her, rubbing her back.

Sarah slowly accepted the hand reaching for hers—their fingers threading together as she rested her head against his shoulder. "_It's okay_," she told him. "Daddy makes up for it. He lets me do whatever I want and gets me anything I ask for. Even when I mess up Davey and Jake usually get in trouble. And I know he's probably just spoiling me because he feels bad….or I don't know…..maybe that's part of the contract, too….._it doesn't matter." _Sarah pulled away from his embrace, pinning him with the passion and naïve, childlike acceptance bleeding from her beautiful features. "It _doesn't _matter, Harry. Even if your dad is the reason your mom wanted to leave he didn't force her. I know it hurts. It hurts me, too sometimes but they _chose _to leave. Your mom chose to leave just like my real mom chose to leave me…..just like my _other _mom pretends she doesn't hate me in public or when my brothers are around because she can't look at me without seeing my daddy's mistake."

"I'm gonna…." Opie looked away from her, staring towards the ground. "_I miss her already._"

It was Sarah that wrapped an arm around his shoulder this time.

"I know," Sarah said. "But you shouldn't be mad at Piney. Even if he messed up he's a good dad just like my daddy. Our fathers are all we got, Harry. At least we know _they'll _never abandon us no matter what."

Minutes passed by.

Ten? Twenty?

There was no way to tell for sure.

But then Opie finally lifted his head up to meet her eyes.

And for the first time he didn't see her as the girl that was always joined at the hip with his short-tempered but funny and loyal next door neighbor.

She wasn't just another girl running behind his best friend, batting her eyelashes every time Jax drawled the word _Darlin _the way his father and the other MC guys said it.

She wasn't the scheming, calculating, manipulative girl who always had an angle when she asked him a question, or when she gave an answer that confused him more than the question whenever he asked _her_ one.

He liked this side of her, that he'd never been allowed to see.

Now he finally understood why Tara stayed friends with her even though she picked on her about her weight when she saw her eating something sweet.

Sarah Hale was….

Well she was already his friend wasn't she?

Yeah, she was.

And Opie Winston was starting to think of her as more.

He _wanted _her to be more.

"_So," _Sarah said, smacking her lips after taking a moment to triumph in the nod of understanding, the hand squeeze of appreciation and the bright smile she'd managed to coax out of him. "_Is Jax gonna come sleep over your house again like last weekend?"_

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><p><strong><em>Alright folks.<em>**

One chapter down. And I have EXACTLY **seven** more to go before I hit complete on this little story. What do you think so far?

Let me know.

**|REVIEW|**

Who knows, your feedback might spark the creativity for **CH2**. I know what has to happen (it ties into _**Uncharming**_) it's a matter of figuring out how to put everything together. The water gun that fell on my head when I was ransacking the hallway closet definitely gave me the idea for a summery birthday (yes I know, he's a fall baby but California is always sunny) party to open **this **one. Weird how inspiration strikes huh?

- V. **Crow**


	3. SORRY

**A/N: **This starts on the Eve of Tara's accident from **Opie's POV **starting from **CH43 **of _**Uncharming & the Prince**__._

**FYI: **Shout out to _Newfiegirl_ and _Summerd123._ All of the **flashbacks** I included in this came to me when I read about your interest in seeing more of how **Donna **and Opie started out. I already showed you how they met in my EXTRASODE **"Donatella". **_How about a tiny glimpse into their first date? _**This is for you guys.**

******Hope you Enjoy!

P.S: You can thank the crazy snow day I had for this update lol. I finally got around to editing through it. (Thanks to my insomnia for _that)_

**- Veritable Old Lady Crow**

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><p><em>I don't like the way she's looking at you,<em>

_I'm starting to think you want her, too._

_Am I crazy? Have I lost ya?_

_Even though I know you love me I can't help it..._

_- V-crow's **[Jealous by Nick Jonas] **remix_

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"Hey, handsome….._you come here often_?"

Opie Winston looked up from the menu in his hand, smiling at the teasing look in the young waitress's eyes.

"Hey, Kendra," Opie said, smirking. "How's college?"

"I'll be happy when the semester is over," Kendra admitted. "School full time and working is really kicking my ass. I'm still hoping to get that internship with that firm I was telling you about."

_Hoping? We both know you're gonna get it. _

_You give Tara a run for her money._

_"Thanks," _he said, picking up the glass of Pepsi she'd placed in front of him to take a sip. "Finals coming up soon, huh?"

Kendra groaned, sitting down across from him. "Don't remind me."

"I can see how stressed out you are," Opie teased. He leaned sideways to peer at her legs from around the table. "Looks like you put on the freshman fifteen already."

Kendra giggled, snatching the menu in his hand to hit him in the face with it.

"You know I'm just kidding," Opie said. "You look great. I probably miss your cheerleading uniform more than you do."

_Definitely, not probably. _

"Careful there, Opie," Kendra warned. The stern expression she cast him may have been more convincing if the smile she'd tried to swallow hadn't made its way to the surface. "We wouldn't want your girlfriend getting the wrong idea about us now would we?"

Opie snickered. "I'm pretty sure _your _girlfriend set her straight."

_No pun intended._

"We still laugh about that every now and then," Kendra admitted. She looked up towards the Diner's front entrance. "Where is Donna anyway?"

Opie rolled his eyes. "Late…._as usual."_

* * *

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_"What's wrong Opie?" Natasha Torric asked._

_Jax pulled his lips away from her neck just long enough to smirk at the warning glare his best friend was shooting him from across the table._

_"Opie needs to learn to listen to his brother when he tells him something," Jax announced, smirking. "I _told _you that girl was a waste of time. You should have never even asked her out. Now you look stupid."_

_"Aren't you two supposed to be on a date?" Opie glared. "How about going back to your own damn booth?"_

_"You never heard of a double date?" Jax teased. Then he looked at the empty space next to Opie. "Looks like _Donatellla _doesn't know what a date is at all."_

_Natasha turned towards the handsome, blue-eyed boy nibbling on her earlobe. "What happened? Who'd he ask out?"_

_"There's this new chick that just moved here," Jax explained. "Her name is _Donatella—"

_"Oh! The girl that turned you down?" Natasha intejercted. It was Opie's turn to laugh when Jax glared at the bottle-blonde sitting next to him. "I ran into her at _Scoops. _Stacey invited her to her Pool party. She seems cool…..of course she's crazy to turn _you _down."_

_Opie watched as his best friend's cocky smile returned, spreading across his face as he gripped Natasha's chin rewarding her complimentary words with a kiss. Drinking in the unabashed attraction and admiration in her eyes, Jax pointed a thumb at his best friend._

_"I tried to tell _him _that," Jax explained. "She's obviously one of the crazy ones. Or the high maintenance one's."_

_Opie scoffed. "Because she's not into your arrogant ass?"_

_Both teenagers sitting across the table ignored him. _

"High maintenance. _What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" Natasha asked, cocking her eyebrow._

_"How about I tell you what it's _not?" _Jax drawled. "It's not you Darlin'. You're a cool chick. You'd never do something foul like stand me up when I ask you out for dinner and a movie would you?"_

_"She didn't stand me up," Opie argued, scowling. He peered over at the clock on the wall. "She's probably running late."_

_"An hour late?" Jax challenged. _

_Natasha winced. "Ouch. Sounds like she played you, Ope."_

"How are we doing over here?"

_All three teenagers looked up at the sudden reappearance of their waitress._

_Opie laughed under his breath when he saw Natasha's eyes narrow as Jax took way longer than necessary to read the nameplate clipped onto the scarcely buttoned V-neck uniform shirt Kendra Thompson was wearing. _

_"Hey, Darlin," Jax drawled, smiling up at her. Ice chinked against the glass as he raised it towards her, winking. "Any chance I can get a refill?"_

_Kendra rolled her eyes, turning towards Opie. "What's going on, Champ? You been staring at the clock since you got here."_

_Jax chuckled. "Cinderella decided she didn't want to meet him at the ball after all."_

_Natasha slapped his arm. "Stop it, Jax! You're being mean."_

_Opie hated the sympathy in Kendra's eyes even more than the triumphant smile on Jax's face as he rubbed in the fact that the girl who had turned him down for Opie ended up flaking out on their first date. _

_"I tell you what, sweetheart," Kendra said, walking away without the glass Jax held out to her. "Apple pie's on me tonight. I'll even throw in an extra scoop of vanilla."_

"I hope your date gets the same treatment."

_Opie spun around so quickly he missed the way Jax's blue eyes ballooned at the sight of her._

_The emerald blouse she wore hung off her shoulders, the ruffled ends of the green top stopping just shy of the earring piercing through her navel. The shredded ends of her high-waist denim shorts hung mid-thigh—the strings of the strappy black sandals on her feet twistingd up her toned, sun-kissed calves, creating the illusion of longer legs than physically possible on someone her height. Her dark hair was an abundance of bouncy, thick curls that had clearly taken just as much time and care as the flawless make up brightening the greens and blues of her eyes. _

_Donnatella Lewis looked goregeous. So beautiful that even Jax—the King of being a smart ass—had no comment._

_And that fact alone was more than enough to make Opie forget how annoyed (and embarrassed) he was when they'd all thought she stood him up._

Holy shit.

_"Sorry I'm late," Donna said, coming to a stop in front of the table. "My Stepfather is an asshole. If he had his way I wouldn't even be here at all."_

_"Wow." Jax wolf-whistled, grinning sheepishly at his date when she elbowed him in his side. _

_Much like the first time they met, Donna ignored him completely, turning to cock an eyebrow at Opie, nodding her head towards the couple sitting across from him. "You didn't tell me it was a double date."_

_Jax was too busy admiring her legs to catch the look his best friend cast him. So Opie moved on to Plan B—kicking the shit out of him underneath the table. _

_"It's not," Jax spoke up, sliding out of the booth. Natasha immediately stood up next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "We were just keeping him company until you showed up."_

_"Appreciate it," Donna said, winking at him. Then she turned the playful twinkle in her eyes on Opie, fluttering her fingers towards him. "Mind sliding over?"_

_Opie moved in, making room for her to sit down next to him. _

_His eyes never left hers._

_Not even when he spied his best friend sneaking his girl of the week Natasha Torric into the Men's restroom._

_Not even when he saw his next door neighbor Tara Knowles enter the diner, walking past their table just as the Men's bathroom door slammed shut._

* * *

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"Even _you _thought she stood me up," Opie accused, mock-glaring at her. "You offered me free dessert because you felt sorry for me."

"_I don't remember," _Kendra said, pressing a finger to her chin. "Did I ever give you your free slice?"

"You did," Donna answered behind her. Opie looked up at his pint-sized girlfriend as she narrowed her eyes at the two of them suspiciously. "He split it with me. I even got my _own _scoop of ice cream…so how are things with you and _Megan_?_ Or are you into _guys_ now?"_

Opie groaned, slapping himself on the forehead. "Donna…."

Kendra stood up, patting the wrinkles out of the apron tied around her waist. "And that's my cue," she said, smirking as she walked away. "Good seeing you, Donna…_I swear I never thought I'd meet someone more jealous than my sister's husband."_

"I had this dream the other night," Opie said as she sat her purse down on the table. "You and me were married and I came up from work one night….and you were sitting on our porch with a shotgun asking_ what took me so long."_

"You must have been really late then," Donna commented, sifting through her bag.

"Or really stupid for marrying your crazy ass," Opie teased. "I should probably skip town while I have the chance."

"Even if you transferred to another charter I'd still find you," Donna joked, looking up to smile at him.

"I wish I could find the asshole you went out with before me," Opie huffed.

Donna's eyes brightened as she found what she was looking for, pulling a purple wallet from her bag. "You need someone to trade horror stories with?"

_I wanna kick his ass for making you so damn paranoid._

_I stand in the post office too long you'll think I'm cheating with the mailman. _

"You planning on sitting down to eat with me?" Opie asked, changing the subject.

"We don't have time," Donna answered, walking off towards the take-out counter.

_Whose fault is that? _Opie thought. He stood up, following after her as she placed her order.

"What's the rush?" Opie asked.

Donna turned, eyesbrows rising. "Don't you want to go check on Jax? He probably went straight back to the hospital as soon as you dropped him off at his mother's. Tara had to work right?"

"Yeah." Opie nodded. "I stayed with him the rest of the night so she could go home."

"When my daddy was in the hospital I was crawling up the walls sitting in his room by myself while my mom planned her _wedding," _Donna said, glaring at a spot behind him in disgust. "I didn't even have my best friend there to keep me company because she had rehearsal and SAT prep and a whole bunch of bullshit that translated into her fuckin my boyfriend when he was supposed to be _too busy _running his Old man's hardware store."

_One of these days me and Jax are gonna take a trip to your hometown._

"I can't really say I'm sorry, Donna." Opie kissed her neck as she stood behind her, his hands splayed against her stomach. "If that asshole hadn't fucked up we wouldn't be together."

"Seriously, sweetheart," Kendra said, her eyebrows rising as she smiled at the contentment in Opie's eyes as he held her. "Why do you even worry about this one?"

"It's not _him _I'm worried about," Donna admitted, handing her the cash in her hand. "It's the _Amber's _of the world…..and the _Sarah's."_

_Jesus Christ._

"What'd you order me?" Opie asked, staring at the brown paper bag the cook dropped on the counter next to Kendra minutes later.

"Nothing," Donna answered. "This is for my next-door neighbor Mrs. Donaldson's grandson. I bring him lunch so he doesn't have to eat the rabbit food his wife packs for him and he calls to give me a heads up when my stepfather leaves work early so I can be back in the house _grounded _like I'm supposed to be."

Opie smirked, shaking his head. "Why does your mom even let him put you on punishment if she's not gonna enforce it?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "You never heard of knuckling under?"

_Are you kidding me? I do that with you all the time._

"Right." Opie opened the door for her, taking her purse, the takeout bag and the large "GET WELL SOON" Teddy bear in her hand from her as they made their way towards his truck. "So what time did your mom say I have to get you back by?"

Donna winked at him from the passenger side. "He's working a double. We got at least until midnight."

"As soon as Tara gets there we're going to the movies," Opie declared, driving onto the parkway headed towards St. Thomas hospital.

Donna smirked. "How much you wanna bet she's already there?"

* * *

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_"Can I ask you something?" _

_When Opie nodded, Donna pointed the French fry in her hand at the brunette sitting in the corner several booths away from where they sat. Her hair was a messy mop pinned atop her head, flyaway strands sticking out every which way as she leaned over the table full of papers and textbook in front of her—tapping the pen in her hand against the page she was reading. "_Is that chick over there your ex-girlfriend or something?_"_

Tara?

_"No." Opie blinked. "Why would you even ask that?"_

_"You keep looking over there," Donna said. "And every now and then she glances up at you…..like she wants to come over here or something."_

_Opie smirked. "Nothing gets past you huh?"_

_Donna blushed. "I'm just very aware of my surroundings I guess."_

_"That could come in handy in a town like this," Opie advised. "It's not as _charming _as you think."_

_Opie glanced over in Tara's direction just in time to see Jax step out of the bathroom, Natasha running into him when he stopped short._

_Tara was in her own world—or the world of Psychology at least, as Jax stared at her._

_Opie watched them both, amusement upturning the corners of his mouth as he watched his best friend stand there looking like a deer caught in the headlights of a MAC-Truck. Natasha pulled on Jax's arm, scowling as she fought for his attention. Jax finally snapped his head towards her—guiding her towards the stools at the diner's front counter mere seconds before Tara happened to glance up, conflicting emotions flitting in and out of her green eyes as she stared after his retreating back._

_Then Opie frowned briefly as something occurred to him._

_Tara rarely showed her face around town._

_If she wasn't picking her father up off a bar floor, buying groceries or taking his car for a tune up she mostly stayed at home or at the library studying with her lab partner Leonard Hamilton._

Shit must have been really bad with Arthur tonight if you're at the diner studying.

_"Okay one more question," Donna said, cutting into his thoughts of walking over there to check on her. ".…is she your _bonehead friend's_ ex-girlfriend?"_

Not exactly…

_"Observant and intuitive," Opie said, chuckling lightly._

_"She is?" Donna smiled with pride. "_Wow. _I'm two for two."_

_"What gave it away?" Opie asked smiling as he watched his best friends struggling not to turn his head too much as he watched Tara through the corner of his eye. He had a pretty good idea but he liked the blunt way Donna seemed to put things._

_"When he first walked out of the bathroom, he damn near shoved that Natasha chick who came out behind him back inside when he saw her," Donna said, giggling. Then as she tilted her head studying him she added, "And he looks like he….well I won't say he looks like he's about to cry…he just looks like someone kicked him in the nuts."_

_"They have a history," Opie said, chuckling at her assessment. _

_Donna was spot on._

_Jax looked like he'd been kicked more than once as he forced himself to focus on the babbling blonde sitting at the counter next to him._

_"Couldn't have been much of one," Donna commented, dipping the chicken tender in her hand into the honey mustard. "I've known your best friend for about ten minutes and I can already see he's no better than my ex. He probably burned her. That's why she's glaring at him like she _wants _to kick him in the nuts."_

_Opie was pretty sure Tara was glaring at _Natasha _but he saw no reason to correct her._

_Opie cleared his throat awkwardly, staring down at the tray of food between them, "He's too much of a pussy to admit it…..and I'm gonna sound like one for even saying this…."_

_Donna paused mid-dunk as the chicken in her hand hovered over the sauce dish. "What?"_

_For a moment Opie hesitated, debating whether or not he should say what he was thinking out loud. He was sure Jax wouldn't appreciate it._

_But really who didn't know?_

_Everyone in Charming that they'd grown up with—Hell, even the adults could see how Jax felt about her._

_How they felt about each other._

_Donna was here for five minutes and even she'd somewhat caught on._

_Really, what was the harm in stating the obvious?_

_"_I swear to God he's in love with her," _Opie admitted, stuffing fries in his mouth in hopes that it would save him from elaborating any further._

_Donna's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why would that make you sound like a pussy?"_

_"I'm a guy." Opie shrugged. "We don't talk about love and shit like that."_

_Donna rolled her eyes. "You do if you're not a five year old boy that still thinks girls have cooties," she replied, shaking her head at him. "I think it's sweet when guys say what's on their mind...what's _really _on their mind instead of holding back because they're scared it'll make them..._look like a pussy."

_Opie grinned at her sheepishly. "Yeah?"_

_Donna nodded. "What were you thinking the first time you met me?"_

_"I thought you were _Hot_," Opie confessed, smiling in triumph when she blushed, somehow managing to adorn the light bronzer brushed into her cheeks. "….and….and well….I was also a little confused."_

_Donna sat the glass she'd been sipping from down. "Why?"_

Donna wasn't the only one blushing as he began stammering, one word tripping over the other the next as he ignored the voice in his head telling him to play it cool instead of trying his hand at being honest with her….without sounding like a moron (or a loser.)

"I'm not saying I look like _E.T _or anything," Opie spluttered. "I'm _handsome…._or what not and I got some height on me so girls love that shit. They love guys that are tall and then there's the whole me being the son of one of _SAMCRO's _First Nine…_but then you just moved here so I doubt that even mattered to you at the time…and also he's the _President's _son so that would just—"_

_"Opie." _Donna smiled when he stopped mid-sentenced, finally noticing the good-natured blend of mirth and confusion swirling in her eyes. "I've been lost ever since you said _E.T. _What the heck are you talking about?"

_Opie shrugged, picking a crispy tender out of the basket between them. "Girls don't usually pass over the__ Prince to hang with me...so it kinda caught me off guard when you shut him down like that. Don't get me wrong. _It was funny as Hell. _It just surprised me I guess…."_

_"Prince," Donna repeated. "Prince _Charming….Ugh..._does he really answer when people call him that?"_

_Opie snickered. He nodded towards the brunette scribbling away in the corner booth next to the hallway where the restrooms were. "Tara's actually the one that called him that first. When he took it as a compliment instead of the insult she meant it to be she started calling him Prince _Smarm-ing _instead but that one never really caught on."_

_"Tara sounds like the kind of girl I would hang out with," Donna said, giggling. "Provided she knows how to keep her hands off of other people's boyfriends."_

I can see your ex-boyfriend and your ex-best friend are gonna make this hard for me…..in the bad way.

_"Maybe."_

_Donna nodded over at her. "Are you and her still close?"_

_"I look out for her," Opie admitted, watching her as a group of girls in Blue and orange cheerleading uniforms walked past, stopping at the booth next to hers. _

When she lets me.

* * *

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Opie was already flexing his fingers, preparing them for them for the balled up fists they'd be in momentarily as he sprinted behind him, barely keeping up with Jax even with the slight height (and therefore longer legs) advantage he had.

He cocked an eyebrow in question, hazel eyes flitting back and forth between the enraged expression on his best friend's face and the look of apology beaming at Tara from the face of the young guy Jax was glaring at.

_Oh this is great._

_She sits in your lap for a few hours and you're ready to kill the next guy that talks to her._

_You two, man._

"He _was," _Jax growled, steeling his blue eyes on the startled guy standing in between the five of them. "I saw him all the way from the food court. He ran into you on purpose. Charged at you actually…._like a fuckin bull."_

Looking over at the three young women shaking their heads at Jax, Opie knew he wasn't the only one who thought what he said sounded ridiculous.

But as he peered over at the threatening gleam in Jax's eyes he couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't him flipping out over Tara talking with another guy.

Opie knew what jealous rage was when he saw it—it was staring back at him every time a girl smiled at him in front of Donna.

Especially girls named Sarah Hale.

This wasn't about jealousy.

"Opie saw that shit, too. _Right Ope?"_

_Wrong._

He hadn't seen shit but he couldn't bring himself to disagree with Jax. Instead he continued staring at the accused standing in the middle of them, eyeing him suspiciously until he heard Donna's sly comment about his "Should I or Should I not lie face".

Opie was shocked when the young guy was able to walk away bruise free. Especially after the way Donna and Diane deliberately stirred the pot—picking with Jax despite him already being mad.

He couldn't even keep the reproachful expression on his face straight as he walked off—arm in arm with Donna, leaving Diane to deal with the two teenagers glaring at each other as they stood in front her.

"You're a troublemaker," Opie scolded, smirking at the wide-eyed innocent look Donna gave him.

"I was just trying to diffuse the situation," she lied, giggling under her breath. "Jax needs to take a chill pill. Tara would be fighting every second of the day if she flipped out on every chick that stopped to talk to him. Half the cheerleading squad showed up at the hospital and you know all the cookies and fruit in those baskets ain't the only _treats _they were offering either. If we were back in my hometown they'd probably string her up in a cornfield. I swear, if jealousy is a sickness those bitches are overdue for a trip to the doctor."

_And they clearly aren't the only ones that skipped their vaccinations, _Opie thought thinking back on all the times Donna flipped out.

Emily Duncan.

Kendra Thompson.

Sarah Hale.

There were too many to count one hand—and mentioning any one of them was a sure way to ruin any chances of him getting laid before her "curfew" came calling.

Opie shrugged. "You're probably right."

* * *

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_The diner was jam packed—and noisy as Hell._

_But then it was always crowded when Charming High's cheer squad and the other Varsity teams got back from their summer tournaments._

_Dipping his spoon into the ice cream on the plate of apple pie between them, Opie was happy they were almost finished eating. He could only hope the crowd would stay here instead of heading over to the movie theatre he planned on taking Donna for the midnight showing of that new horror flick he'd been itching to see._

_Jax had taken Stephanie Eglee to see it the weekend before._

_Opie couldn't stop laughing when Jax admitted Stephanie was too shy to do anything more than hold his hand during the really scare parts. But as he raised his hand, signaling for the check he hoped a crowded theatre wouldn't make Donna shy._

_He'd been wanting to kiss her ever since she sat down._

_And he'd nearly pulled a muscle as he struggle not to stare down at the cleavage peeking out of her shirt._

_Kendra was handing him the check when he saw the football zoom across the room, knocking the glass of soda on her table all over Tara's open textbook—splashing her face. Glaring over at the jocks laughing at her from the crowded table several booths away, Tara stood up, dabbing at the soaked pages before closing several napkins inside of it as she hastily gathered up her things._

_Tara was busying herself with fastening the clasps on her messenger bag when Maize O'Keefe, Imalya Lee and several other cheerleaders crept up behind her. Opie watched, scowling as Maize bumped her hard into the table as soon she turned around. A chorus of laughter—both the cheerleaders and the jocks—seemed to echo off the walls as the strap of her bag slid down off her shoulder, all the books and papers she'd just finished putting away scattering across the diner floor._

_"_Oops!_" Opie heard Maize say. "Looks like someone's having a little trouble with balance."_

_"Might be the liquor," Ima sneered. "You know her and her old man are drinking buddies. They sleep it off on the bar floor _together_."_

_"Yeah. When she's not crying to the judge begging him not to lock her daddy up for crashing into my father's dry cleaners," Lauren "Sage" Vidal said snidely._

_Opie gently nudged Donna's side until she slid out of the booth. He took several steps towards them when he saw Jax weaving through the crowd—his date Natasha hot on his heels as he walked towards the frustrated brunette on the floor, struggling to get all her things as people either stepped on them or kicked them out of her reach._

_Jax had almost made his way through when Pierce Reynolds shoved his way through the crowd of his peers. _

_"Enough, guys!" Pierce barked, scowling at his teammates and the cheerleaders standing around him. "What the Hell is wrong with y'all?"_

_Pierce pushed everyone in the way aside, backing them up with long, beefy arms—bending down to quickly gather up all the pens and papers Tara hadn't already picked up. _

_Tara mumbled something that may have been a begrudging "Thank you," before storming past him, half-sprinting out of the diner, a yellow post-it sticking to the back of her sneaker._

_The crowd of his jocks and their pep squad went back to their conversations about basketball and football and backhand springs as if they'd never been tormenting a fifteen year old girl who'd only wanted to study in peace._

_Opie didn't know what was worse to Tara—having a _football _or plates and empty liquor bottles thrown at her. But looking through the window at her as she stood on the sidewalk, he noted that either scenario ended with the same result._

_Her back was towards them but neither him or Donna needed to see the tears she was swiping at with the sleeve of her sweater to know that Tara was crying._

_Once again, Opie had only taken a few steps before Jax's frozen stature came into view. Confliction shined in his blue eyes as he watched her through the plate-glass—completely oblivious to the angry blonde storming away from him side as he struggled with whether or not he should walk out to speak to her._

_"You sure he's in love with her?" Donna questioned from beside Opie. "If he is he has a funny way of showing it." _

_"Y'upp." Deciding that Jax was going to punk out yet again, Opie resumed his stroll towards the diner's exit door, pausing with his fingers curled around the handle when Tara had her second face-to-face collision of the night as she quickly spun around when she felt David Hale's hand on her shoulder._

_Opie didn't even know where he'd come from. _

_The Charming Tiger sewn into the back of the letterman he wore was in full view as he leaned over to pick up the bag he'd knocked off Tara's shoulder._

_Opie couldn't hear their conversation but whatever David said to her had made Tara's laugh—mirth shining in her greens eyes as she swiped her sleeve at the moisture still pooling in the corners of them._

_"Your friend looks like he's ready to do _twenty-five to life," _Donna joked. Opie followed her eyes to where Jax stood watching them through the window. _

_Watching as David shrugged the strap to Tara's bag onto his shoulder, lightly touching her arm as he walked her towards her father's car. Taking her bag from him, Tara tossed it into the backseat of the Cutlass. Standing behind the open driver's door, admiration shining in his hazel eyes as he smiled at her—whatever final words David said to her earned him a quick peck on the cheek before Tara slid into the car, driving off._

_Staring over at his best friend he could see it in Jax's eyes. Cursing under his breath, he wondered why Wendy Case's mom had to go off on a bender the weekend he _finally _found a girl to go out with that hadn't already been acquainted with what was inside Jackson Teller's boxers. Wendy's stand in Natasha Torric was clearly fed up with being ignored. She'd walked out, looking back only to growl in frustration when Jax hadn't even noticed her abrupt absence._

_Jax wasn't paying attention to booth full of cheerleaders eyeing him appreciatively either. He was too busy glaring a hole into the asphalt where the Cutlass had been parked minutes before._

Goddamn it.

_It was gonna be one of those nights._

_ "I'm sorry, Donna," Opie said, sighing. "My brother the _bonehead_ likes to get shitfaced and pick fights when he doesn't have a girl to sneak in through his bedroom window and—"_

_"You need to make sure nobody messes up that pretty face of his too much," Donna finished. "You're a good friend, Opie. I hope he appreciates that more than he does all those airheads batting their eyelashes at him over there. Go tuck the little Prince in…..you still owe me a movie night though. Let's call it date number _two."

A-K-A, the date before I get laid…..I'M IN!

_Opie pretended to scowl at her. "So you think he's pretty, Huh?"_

_Donna giggled. "He's very pretty," Donna admitted, tugging gently on Opie's beard. "…thing is….I'm more for the ruggedly handsome."_

_Opie rolled his eyes. "Is that what I am?"_

_"Uh-huh." Donna nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck._

_"I guess I can live with that."_

_"Good," Donna whispered against his lips. "Because I'm ready for you kiss me goodnight."_

_"What makes you think I want to?" Opie teased, pulling back every time their mouths drew closer. _

_"The way you've been staring at my lips all night."_

_"I guess you noticed that, too."_

_Losing patience, Donna tugged on the strands of his hair, pulling his face down—crushing her lips to his before he could jump back again._

_The passion was almost too much for a first kiss._

_But damn it if Opie wasn't rooted to the spot where he stood._

_Opie was loving the heat. _

_A _real_ fire couldn't chase him out the kitchen._

_Pulling back, Donna winked at him—nipping at his lips one more time before walking back towards their booth where Kendra stood smiling, grabbing her sweater and clutch off the table._

_"I notice _everything_," Donna said, kissing his cheek as she brushed past him to head out to her car. "Good luck with Prince Charming."_

_I notice everything, Donna had told him. _

_And unbeknownst to Opie Winston, truer words had never been spoken._

* * *

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_"Shit!" _Donna hissed, eyes widening as she flinched at his sudden appearance.

Opie snickered as he threw his other leg over—climbing in through her window.

"It's only been ten minutes," Opie said, laughing when she held a finger to her mouth, gesturing towards her closed bedroom door with the other one. Lowering his voice he continued. "How the Hell did I scare you when you knew I was coming in?"

"My nerves are bad," Donna said, walking towards him as he kicked off his boots.

Opie chuckled. "I'm surprised I have any nerves left," he teased. "You're always aggravating the Hell out of them. I should get a reward for putting up with how crazy you are."

"Keep talking shit," Donna dared. "You won't be getting the _reward _I had planned for you tonight."

Opie widened his eyes. "You mean I'm not just here to help you study?"

"Asshole." Donna smirked. "You're lucky I love you."

"I love you, too….._unfortunately." _Opie laughed when she slapped him over his head, confirming that she'd heard the last word he mumbled under his breath.

Opie sat at the edge of her bed, turning to glance at the digital clock on the nightstand. "It's twelve-thirty."

Donna shrugged, smiling at him as she climbed in his lap, thighs spread wide—her knees gripping his waist as he reached around to palm her ass. "_We just have to be really quiet then,_" she whispered against his mouth.

Opie smirked, whispering back, "_You say that to me like _I'm _the noisy one."_

"You're _lucky _is what you are," Donna said, tugging at the hem of his T-shirt—yanking it over his head.

Whatever smart reply he'd been about to make never made it past his lips as she kissed him—straddling his hips as she pushed him back against her bed. Opie's hand tangled in her hair, his other one sliding up and down her body—groping every curve he'd come to know and love as she rocked against him. Raking her nails down his chest, her fingers made their way to his belt, unclasping the buckle. She lifted off him, shimmying his jeans down as he sat up, pushing her blouse up to pepper wet kisses along her stomach—trailing up to breasts spilling out of the demi-cups of her bra.

Opie was feeling very lucky as he flipped her onto her back, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist—pulling him in closer as he slid the straps of her bra off her shoulders, sucking her nipples through the dampening fabric.

He'd felt like a jackpot winner indeed when he slid her jeans down from around her ankles—easing his way back between the warm, softness of her thighs as he slipped his hand inside her panties, stroking her slowly until she was writhing underneath his touch, moaning into his mouth.

Opie Winston had definitely won the lottery when she gently pushed against his chest until he was kneeling in the bed, his knees on either side of her waist. Donna sat up on her elbows, kissing along the trail of fine hairs from his belly button to V of his groin as she slid his boxers down over his hips. He was shutting his eyes in anticipation when someone knocked on her bedroom door.

It was until that moment that Opie truly appreciated how pissed off Jax was when he'd interrupted him and Tara the night he'd caught them about to hook up in his bedroom.

All he could do was keep his eyes closed, praying whoever stood outside her door would go the fuck away.

"DONATELLA!"

"WHAT?" Donna answered, scowling at her mother through the door blocking her from view.

The doorknob twisted. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't lock your door."

"When you said I was lucky I think you forgot to tack on the _Un _in front of it," Opie whispered. He snickered when she reached for her pillow, holding over his mouth as she kneed him off of her.

"That's what you and _Reginald _agreed," Donna said. "What do you want, Mom?"

"What's your boyfriend's name again?"

"Opie." Donna rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"_Opie…._right. Well first things first I don't appreciate your blatant disregard for the fact that you're on punishment _or _your disrespect towards Reggie and I," Her mother said. "You _know _you're not allowed to have boys over. _Especially _in your bedroom with the door"—they watched as the doorknob jingled again—"closed. Hurry up and get dressed, _Opie. _Both of you actually. Then you can open this door that isn't supposed to be locked!"

"_Sounds like your stepfather is home," _Opie whispered, snickering when she rolled her eyes at him. "He's probably standing right next to her."

"_How the Hell else would he pull her strings?" _Donna grumbled.

"What's that you said?" Andrea Lewis asked through the door.

"Opie's not _here," _Donna lied. "And I'm already dressed for bed. I have a headache and there's school tomorrow. I'm going to sleep mom. _Goodnight."_

_"You know she's lying," _they heard a man in the hallway with her hiss. "_This is what I'm talking about. She needs boundaries. Her father spoiled her rotten and now she thinks she can—"_

"Learn how to whisper, Jackass!" Donna yelled. "It's funny how you can't remember _my father _until you're trying to be him! If I want to screw the entire football team on the living room couch that would be _his _business seeing as his alimony is paying for this house!"

"_Shhhh." _Opie laughed against her mouth as he kissed her. "Don't make it worse. We want them to _leave _not kick the door down."

_Please leave. _

_Please leave. _

_I've been horny since I watched you trying on all those clothes at the mall._

"_What the fuck is taking him so long?"_

Opie froze as his father's voice rang out through the door, his eyes widening with Donna's.

"Oh sorry," Andrea said. "I almost forgot—"

"Your father's here _Dopey_!" Reginald Morgan interrupted. "Come on out! Ain't no use breaking your neck trying to sneak out through her window. I spotted your truck parked up the block!"

_Cock-blocker._

_And my name is _Opie _asshole._

"OPIE!" Piney yelled through the door, banging against it hard enough to break it off the hinges. "Move your ass! _Tara__ got into a car accident. _She was driving from—"

Opie was already prying Donna's bedroom door open before he finished his statement—T-shirt and boots in his hands as he pulled his jeans on, zipping them up. Rushing out into the hallway with him, Donna was too distracted by Piney's brash announcement to be embarrassed at her barely-dressed state or make it clear she didn't give a shit when her stepfather glanced over at his fiancée as if to say, "_See what I mean?"_

"I thought he wasn't here," Reginald accused.

Donna waved him off. "What happened?" she asked as Opie pulled his shirt on, shoving his feet into his boots—tucking the laces inside.

"Sounds like the Hale's daughter crashed into her," Piney answered.

Opie paused, looking up from his belt buckle. "_Sarah?_"

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Donna was still arguing with her mother and stepfather, trying to convince them to let her go with him to the hospital when they left.

Opie quickly kissed her forehead, running behind his father—too anxious to stick around for the final verdict. _SAMCRO _had nearly suffered another member laying down their Harley on the highway when Opie almost clipped Piney's bike as he drove in the pickup truck behind him, racing towards the hospital.

Piney and Opie Winston pushed past the people leaving—stepping into St. Thomas' Emergency Room just in time for all Hell to break loose.

"WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU A MEDICAL LICENSE?" Jax screamed, lunging towards the rattled intern adjusting the IV in Tara's arm. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO KNOW HER ALLERGIES!"

"Jackson, sweetie," Diane said, pulling him back. "They didn't know—"

"THAT'S MY POINT!" Jax snapped. "_She's here for help and these assholes are trying to kill her!_"

Opie rushed over, frowning as Tara wheezed into the Oxygen mask over her mouth—red splotches peppering along what little of her skin that was visible in between all the bloodstained gauze, the white casting wrapped around her hand and arm, the splints on her fingers, the brace on her neck—the purpling scrapes and bruised on her cast-free hand, littering her swollen face.

"What the Hell is going on?" Piney barked, eyes flitting back and forth between the brunette laying back between them and the angry teenage boy glaring at the doctors tending to her.

"She had an adverse reaction to the morphine," Diane explained, frowning when Jax shrugged off the assuring hand she'd placed on his shoulder. "Morphine is a very rare allergy to have. She's gonna be fine. They caught in in time—"

"_Because _Tara _suggested it," _Jax snapped. "She's the _patient! _Why the Hell is she figuring out her own diagnosis?"

Opie stepped forward, gripping Jax's shoulder. "It's all good, Bro," he said. "The same thing happened to Pop. There's no way of them knowing until they see you break out in hives and shit."

"Or _stop breathing," _Jax added, glowering at the intern pressing a stetheoscope against Tara's chest.

"She never _stopped_ breathing," Diane corrected. Jax ignored her, reaching for Tara's hand—lacing his fingers in hers as he leaned over her, staring at the labored rise and fall of her chest as if he'd feared she'd stop at any moment and he couldn't trust the physicians around them to notice in time. "Oh _good."_

Opie turned around to see what had caught Diane's attention.

Gemma stalked towards them. "Jackson," she urged. "They're trying to help her and you're interfering. You gotta let them work on her. She's gonna be okay, Baby."

Jax spun around, glaring at her. "Like you give a shit!"

"She might need surgery for her arm," Diane explained, moving to stand beside Gemma in an odd statement of solidarity. "But your mom's right. Tara's gonna be fine."

"_That's the same shit they told me when Tommy came here."_

Jax had spoken so low, Opie was sure he'd been the only one to hear it.

"We need to take her down to X-RAY," the young doctor announced.

Diane nodded. "I'm coming with you."

"I'm coming, too!" Jax declared, moving to follow after them as they wheeled her out towards the double doors on the other end of the room.

"_Get the Hell off of me!"_

"Calm down, Son," Piney urged. "You gotta let the doctor's do their job."

"I said get _off!"_

Both Opie and his father had to restrain him—and it wasn't easy as Jax fought against the grip they had on his arms the further they pushed Tara away from where they all stood.

"GRACIE!"

Diane spun around, staring wide-eyed.

Opie and Piney both spun around, releasing their grip on Jax—who immediately rushed past Diane, with his mother trailing behind him as he pushed the double doors that had closed just as Tara disappeared behind them.

"Where are they…._where they_," Arthur Knowles slurred, barely standing on his own two feet as the man standing beside him held him up by his shoulders. "….where they…where they taking my baby girl? What….what happ—to her? What happened—"

"Jesus Christ, Art," Diane groaned, glaring at her brother's drinking buddy as she smacked his hands away, guiding Arthur towards a nearby bed.

"_You're welcome," _the agitated bartender mumbled, glaring as he walked away without the 'thank you' he was due.

"Where's she?" Arthur urged. "Where's Gracie? Unser said—"

"She's gonna be fine," Diane promised. "They're taking her to X-ray…_excuse me!" _Diane snapped her fingers at the Nurse pretending not to be watching them from behind the clipboard in her hand. "Think you can set him up with a banana bag?"

"No problem," the Nurse answered, hopping off her stool to scurry over towards the supply closet.

"I'll be right back," Diane told her brother. "I'm going to make sure everything—"

"I'm going with ya," Arthur declared, stumbling as he slid off the bed.

"No." Diane shook her head as she helped him up. "I'll come back down once they've set her up in her room. Then you can—"

Arthur shoved her aside, tripping over his own two feet in the process. "No."

"Listen to your sister," Piney suggested. Opie could see his father's struggle to keep the disgust he felt out of his expression. "Tara wouldn't want—"

"WHAT MY DAUGHTER WANTS IS NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUSINESS!" Arthur bellowed.

"Clean yourself up, asshole," Piney barked, glaring at him. "It's bad enough she's banged up. You really want to embarrass her by throwing up on her doctor?"

Arthur swung at him—his fist punching air as Piney stepped back, sneering at him when he fell to the floor.

Piney kicked him in his side.

"PINEY!" Diane screamed, kneeling to the ground to help her brother up.

"Worthless piece of shit!" Piney grunted. He pointed towards the doors Tara had disappeared behind moments before. "Everything that little girl is—anything she makes of herself will be in spite of _you! _And you call yourself a _father. _How dare you—SON OF A BITCH!_"_

Opie and Jax both slid back, noses wrinkling in disgust as Arthur Knowles threw up—vomit splashing all over Piney's boots when he didn't move back in time.

Opie didn't know how he did it—or at least that's what he _told _himself.

But somehow throughout all the chaos he'd noticed the four of them walking through the ER, heading out of the automatic sliding doors.

Rushing out behind them, he called out to one most likely to answer him.

"David!"

David Hale turned around to glare at him. "What the Hell do you want?" he asked as his parents and older brother continued walking.

"Where's _Sarah?" _Opie asked. "Is she okay?"

David smirked. "Still got a hard-on for my sister, Huh?"

"Is she still here?" Opie questioned, ignoring his snide remark. "Did y'all have to check her in? Is she—"

"Sarah's fine," David announced. The bite in his voice suggested he wasn't nearly as happy about his sister being okay as he should have been. "She's probably gonna have one hell of a headache when the high from all that coke she snorted wears off though."

"Sarah was _high?_" Opie blew out a heavy breath, raking his hands through his hair—noticing only then that he'd forgotten the beanie he usually wore in Donna's bedroom. "Jesus Christ."

David stepped closer to him, his voice a near-whisper as he asked, "Is _Tara _okay?"

Opie nodded. "How long is Sarah staying? Are you coming back for her or does—"

"My folks are headed back home to finish packing her bags," David said, smirking. "As soon as the doctor gives her the clear their shipping her right back to boarding school. Too bad they didn't send her back _before _she almost killed my...before she almost killed Tara."

Any other time Opie would have taken a moment to tease him about almost referring to Tara as his girlfriend.

But at the moment he was more concerned with the dark-haired girl walking through the parking lot towards the spot where they stood.

"I want to see her," Opie whispered. "Think you can sneak me in before she leaves?"

"Visiting hours are over," David answered. "I'm the one that has to drive her to the airport though so if you're at my house by at least seven-thirty tomorrow you can kiss her goodbye then…" David scratched his head. "Is….umm….is Tara's aunt sneaking Jax in to stay with her?"

It wasn't until then that Opie remembered the green scrubs Diane had been wearing.

_Diane works here?_

"I'll be there at twelve," Opie answered quickly, smiling at Donna as she made her way towards him. "….and I'll tell Tara you asked about her."

David nodded, walking backwards. "Cool."

"Is Tara okay?" Donna asked, hugging him. "I hope that bitch Sarah survived. I want a chance to hit her with _my c_ar. See how she likes it."

"Tara's fine." Opie kissed the top of her head.

_I hope Sarah is, too._

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"Where the Hell are you?"

"_Shit," _Opie hissed into the phone. "I'm sorry, Baby. I forgot to tell you. I'm not going to school today. Your mother snuck you your keys back didn't she?"

"Why are you cutting?" Donna questioned. He could hear as she fumbled in her book bag, bracelets jangling as she searched for the car keys in question. "If you wanted to skip to go keep Tara company you should have said so. I'll meet you there."

"I thought you had a project due today," Opie commented, as he turned onto the street.

"I can hand it in a day late," Donna said. "It's only minus five points. A ninety-five is good enough for me. Should I stop by the diner to get breakfast or do you think Jax got her some? _My God, _those poor nurses. I bet he snuck out as soon as Gemma went to sleep and bullied his way into Tara's room. Are _you _bringing her anything?"

Opie sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. "I'm not going to visit Tara."

He heard her pull her car door closed. "Then where the heck are you going? Or better yet where _are _you?"

Opie peered out through the window at the mansion up the hill, half-hidden between the plethora of trees and the Iron Gate lining the property. Staring at the gilded _|HALE MANOR| _sign welded to the front entrance gate, he did the only thing he knew would help in this situation he found himself in.

It was the first time he'd ever done it.

And as the words slipped past his lips, he promised himself it would be the _last _time.

"_I'm hanging with Lowell for the day_," Opie lied, recalling when Jax had mentioned LJ's mother making him stay home when they were eating on the food court in the mall.

"Y'all should come to school," Donna scolded gently. "Classwork is boring but that'll take his mind off things too."

"It _might._"

Donna sighed in his ear. "Alright," she said. "I guess I'll see you later then. _Love you."_

"_I love you,"_ Opie replied, pressing the end button on the phone, placing it on the dashboard.

David appeared suddenly, pressing the button—opening the gates to let him drive in. Turning the truck on, he drove inside—the doors clanging shut behind him as Sarah walked up behind her brother.

Opie winced, frowning as he observed the patch of gauze covering her forehead as she walked around David, reaching for the handle to the passenger side door of the truck.

Sliding inside the truck, Sarah angled her body towards him—worry swirling in the grays of her eyes as she studied his face. "Is Tara okay?"

_Jesus Christ._

Opie reached towards her, lightly brushing the honey-blonde curls out of her face.

"She's fine," Opie answered. "….Are _you?"_

_Please say Yes._

_Then I won't feel guilty for telling you what a fuckin idiot you are._

"Even after all of this," Sarah said, looking down in her lap. "Even after all the shit I did…..all the shit I did to _you….._you still show up here."

"Someone's got to," Opie snapped. "Clearly it's not just everyone around you. You act like you don't give a shit about _yourself _either. What the Hell is wrong with you, Sarah? Why do you keep doing this shit?"

"I might be a selfish bitch," Sarah admitted. "But that doesn't mean I don't _care_. Being jealous of her never stopped me from loving her..." Sarah looked up at him, a hint of a smile playing at her lips. "I cared about you, too you know. Just not as much as you wanted me to."

"If you cared about me at all you wouldn't do shit like this," Opie argued. "To _Tara _either. I don't care how many punches she throws at you. She wouldn't want you laid out somewhere _dead _because you O.D'd…_just like last time."_

David tapped against the hood of the car.

Opie looked up to see him gesturing towards the imaginary watch around his wrist.

"I can't miss my flight," Sarah commented. "My father will probably make me take the _train _if I do. I am not riding with a bunch of hobos for three days. Thanks for stopping by, Harry. I'm glad I at least got to say goodbye to you. Tell Tara I'm sorry, Okay? And can you tell Jax—"

"_Stop worrying about Jax_," Opie snapped. "Believe me, he doesn't give a shit about you!"

_I do._

"But you do?" Sarah challenged. "Even after I almost killed your sister?"

Opie rolled his eyes.

_Enough with the Big brother Opie bullshit already._

"Listen to me," Opie urged, grabbing her hand—enfolding it in the warmth of his own. "I love Donna. I love her the way Jax is too chicken-shit to admit he loves Tara. The way we _both _know he's always loved her. So despite what you, Tara, Jax _and _my crazy girlfriend thinks you were never a threat to her—to _us. _I want to be with _her….._but that doesn't mean I don't still care about you. And it doesn't mean it won't kill me if something happens to you because you can't stop this self-destructing bullshit you always pull every time Jax reminds you of what you already know. _He's never gonna to feel the same way you do. _I went through the same shit with you and I never got high and crashed my car into my best friend!"

Sarah shook her head, smiling as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Jackson loves Tara," she said. "David loves Tara…..You love Tara….my _mother _loves Tara…if my real mom was around she'd probably love her, too. And I don't blame y'all because I love her, too. I just want someone to pick _me _for once. Put _me _first. Love _me._"

Opie rolled his eyes. "You're not baiting me into to stating the obvious, Sarah. I can't help feeling it but I'll be damned if I ever say it to you again. It doesn't mean anything to you anyway. Not enough at least. I just don't want you—Jesus Christ. _Stop being a train wreck okay?_ You're not...Tara still cares about you too. And in his own selfish—twisted way, Jax would too if he could see past all the times you tried to come between them….and the fact that he almost lost her for the _second _time because of you. You're the reason she stopped talking to him for years..."

Sarah looked up at him, her eyes widening a little. "I didn't know that. When I came back they seemed—"

"You _would_ have known if you asked her," Opie scolded, glaring at her. "If you treated her like the girl you used to protect from her father instead of like your competition….in a game you already knew you'd never win to begin with."

"I'm _sorry," _Sarah said, crying.

"I'll tell her you said that," Opie promised. "You should go. I don't want you to miss your flight. And I might have to kick your brother's ass if he bangs a dent in my father's truck. Take care of yourself, Sarah." He leaned over towards her, lightly pressing his lips to her cheek. "_Please."_

"Harry….I have to tell you something," Sarah said, staring down at his hand as brushed his thumb across her palm. "It's about Tara—"

Opie pulled away from her frowning. "Is that really how you want to leave things?" he snapped.

Sarah shook her head, holding a hand up. "It's not like that, Harr—"

"I tell you I care about you," Opie grumbled. "I _lied_ to my girlfriend to come see you off and your response is start trouble? You are un-fuckin—"

"_She's your sister, Harry," _Sarah said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Big brother Opie—"

"—I'm serious—"

"—you're _never s_erious! About _anything! _Maybe that's why you and Jax never worked. _Opposites _attract. I love my brother to death but I swear to God sometimes I can't tell who's more selfish. Him or my ex-girlfriend who fucked him behind my back!"

"PINEY IS TARA'S FATHER!"

Opie blinked hard—twice.

Staring through the open window at the open-mouthed expression on David's face confirmed that he'd heard her right.

"_What the fuck are you talking about?" _

David took the words straight out of his mouth.

"This has nothing to do with you, Davey," Sarah hissed. "Go get my bags. I'll be there in five minutes."

"You just couldn't leave on a good note," David said, shaking his head as he stalked off. "You just have to light a match before you go. Don't pay her any mind, Opie. _She wouldn't know the truth if it smacked her in the face."_

Staring at her, Opie's glare could sear a frozen steak. "What the Hell are you trying to pull now, Sarah?"

"I know you'll think I'm just saying this to stir up shit with you guys but I'm not," Sarah said. "It's the truth."

Opie shook his head. "What? Why would you—how could he—_you're full of shit."_

_That makes no sense._

"SARAH LYNETTE HALE!" Jacob Hale yelled as he charged down the driveway. "I PAID TWO GRAND FOR THAT FIRST CLASS TICKET! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THAT TRUCK AND IN THE CAR WITH DAVID _RIGHT NOW!"_

_"That's just great, Jake," _Gloria Hale hissed, running up behind him. "Shout our business out for everyone to hear! Let the neighbors know we're carting your bastard child off to Connecticut again!"

Sarah's father turned to glare the woman standing at the end of the road in her slippers—a glass of wine in one hand while her other one held her robe closed.

"_What neighbors?"_

"I gotta go," Sarah said, reaching to pull her door open. Leaning over, she kissed him, her lips grazing his too swiftly for him to pull back—whether that would have been his response or not. "Talk to Jax," she advised him as she slammed the truck door shut. "He knows everything I know. He'll tell you...tell Tara I'm sorry okay? I wanted to tell her. _Jax didn't want her to get hurt._"

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><p><strong>Thoughts? [10,000 Words]<strong>

**Can't wait to read your thoughts on every one.**

|REVIEW|


	4. HONESTY

**A/N: **I'd recommend re-reading my **_Uncharming & the Prince_** |EXTRASODE| **"FATHERS"**. You don't have to but the flashbacks in this chapter are actually the same day, but from **Opie's POV **obviously.

**- Veritable Old Lady Crow**

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_There's no need to reminisce 'bout the past,_

_Obviously 'cause that _shit _did not last,_

_I know how a woman will try to game you,_

_So don't get caught up because baby you'll lose..._

**- "Case of the Ex", Mya**

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Opie was on his back—hazel eyes staring absently up at his bedroom ceiling. One arm curled around her waist, holding her snugly against him. Ruffling the sweat-dampened curls at the crown of her head, Donna's eyes brightened a little more every time he'd randomly kiss her forehead the way he always did when they cuddled after sex. Content to lie in his arms forever, Donna smiled as she rested her face against his naked chest—momentarily too caught up in the afterglow to notice the sudden shift in his mood.

She'd picked up on it the second she walked through his front door. The words, _"What's wrong," _were on the tip of her tongue when he reached for her—knocking the Chinese takeout bag and the purse she was holding to the living room before tangling his hands in her hair, rendering her speechless with a scorching kiss that wiped every thought that wasn't them together from her mind.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Donna gasped into his mouth as he gripped her ass, lifting her up until her legs were folded behind his back—carrying her to his bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him as he gently tossed her back on his bed. She'd been too caught up in all the tantalizing sensations—the slight tickle of his beard against her inner thighs, his hands roaming her body, groping and pinching, massaging and strumming in all the right places. And by the time they were done—by the time _he _was done with her, Donna still hadn't made the connection.

She'd been too lost in the ecstasy, the no holds barred seduction, the passion to feel the apology laced in every touch, every sweet, breathy word he whispered in her ear. Everything he did, everything he was doing felt too good for her to remember what he'd been feeling when she first walked in, the reason for the worry—the anxiety in expression, the desperation reflected back at her when he cast their dinner aside, leaving it behind to get cold while he made a meal out of every inch of her instead.

The storm was over now.

And the calm that hadn't preceded it charged the air around them.

Opie Winston knew better than to trust it though.

No matter what the calm always came _before _the storm.

The real one had yet to come.

He'd brought the lightening and he knew without a doubt that the girl lying in bed with him would be the one to bring the thunder.

"I got a perfect score," Donna commented, eyelids fluttering as she snuggled against him. "Sixty out of sixty on my project and forty out forty on my oral presentation. I know I said I didn't care if I got minus five but Mr. Hardwick says I'm looking at a definite ninety-eight in his class if I get at least a B-plus on his next Midterm. Can you believe that? At this point I don't even _have _to get an A on my midterm to ace his class."

"That's my girl," Opie replied. Gently tilting her face up, he lightly nipped at the tip of her nose before softly brushing his lips against hers.

Donna beamed at him, kissing his chin. "_Know-it-all-Knowles_ better watch out. At this rate I might end up stealing Valedictorian from her. But then I guess she still wins since _I'm _actually a Junior while Tara's the one that's probably graduating earlier in _my _class."

"Yeah."

Donna sat up slowly—smile faltering when his eyes drifted back up to the ceiling.

"Tara's _fine_, Opie." Donna reached for his hand, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly when he brought hers to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. But he still wasn't looking at her, thus the reason for her smile not quite reaching her eyes. Throwing her leg over him, she caressed his face, fingers ghosting over the fading bruise at his temple. "What's wrong, Baby? You never told me why you and Jax were fighting earlier. You know it wasn't his fault right? Jax does a lot of stupid shit but there's no way he would have let Tara even leave his house if he knew that would happen. _Tara _wasn't the one on drugs. And it wasn't Jax's fault Sarah got high either. It was an accident. If you're mad with anyone it should be the train wreck that ran Tara off the road, almost killing her."

Opie nodded once, mouth set in a grim line as his eyes flitted down staring at his bedroom dresser—Tara's brush and comb, her lotion bottles, a T-shirt she'd borrowed and took forever to give back scattered across the cluttered surface with his own belongings.

"_Opie," _Donna urged, gripping his chin between her fingers until he finally looked at her. "Talk to me."

"I found out something today," Opie admitted quietly. "I've been trying to wrap my head around it ever since then but it's like I can't. No matter how many different scenarios I come up with nothing adds up. There's no way it's true but it doesn't make sense for her to lie about it."

"Tara?" Donna's legs were crossed underneath her as she slid off of him, the undivided attention she was giving him evident as she angled her body towards him completely. "What happened? What did—"

Donna fell silent when he shook his head.

"It's _about _Tara," Opie told her. "It's about me, too….and _Pop_ but I just….I don't know what to do with it. I don't know if I should even say anything. I don't know why…._Shit…_I don't know a damn thing, Donna. But right before Sarah left she told me someone who _does _know. If she's telling the truth he's probably known a long time and he never said a _goddamn _word."

"What are you talking about, Opie?" Donna asked, eyebrows scrunching together. "What does Sarah have to—what do you mean before she left? I thought—"

"Sarah left this morning," Opie explained. "I'm sure you'll be happy to know it's for good. To be honest I am, too. But when I went to her house to say goodbye to her, she told me some—"

Donna's hands flew up, palms outstretched in between them, signaling a halt in his sentence that quickly died off when he saw the look on her face.

"You did _what?" _

The boom in her voice as she stared at him, her wide eyes gradually narrowing to slits the longer it took him to find the words he needed, the tight line that was the once pink, bow-shaped lips he loved to kiss, the bones of her knees stabbing into his stomach as she quickly crawled over him to stand at his bedside glaring in his face as he threw the covers off his legs.

The calm was over.

And the real storm was starting.

* * *

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_"Stop lying, Harry," Sarah scolded, swaying side to side in the mirror. "This looks ridiculous! Gloria bought it like this on purpose. It's like I'm wearing the _before _dress those people put on in those Jenny Craig commercials."_

_Opie snickered. "I think you look pretty."_

_"Maybe I could trade dresses with Tara," Sarah mused out loud. "This is drowning me but it'll probably fit her perfectly. And if not she can always get my mom to let the dress out a little."_

_"Why are girls so dramatic about clothes?" Opie wondered out loud, rolling his eyes. _

And Tara's _not _fat, _Opie thought to himself. _

_Out loud he said nothing, a twinge of guilt twisted his stomach as he opted not to speak up. He knew it would fall on deaf ears anyway. How many times had he told Sarah about how it was like pulling teeth for Pop to get Tara to eat anything every time Sarah slept over her house? And besides, he knew Tara's limit. He'd seen the green-eyed brunette chew her best friend out when she'd finally had enough._

_Opie Winston (and _his _best friend Jackson) had learned a long time ago never to get in the middle of whatever went on between _Lady Tee _and _Princess 'Rah. _They always suffered in the end when the two of them kissed and made up._

_"It's our first school dance," Sarah explained, hands on her hip as she turned to cock an eyebrow at him. "Our first _real _one anyway. We get to actually takes dates to this one so I want everything to be perfect."_

_Opie perked up, grinning widely. "Does that mean I get to take you to the dance?"_

_"_Harrryy_," Sarah whined. A frown quickly replaced his smile the second he saw the look in her gray eyes. "I already told you—"_

_"When are we gonna stop hiding?" Opie complained, scowling. "Sarah, I know how much you love this whole _secret boyfriend _thing but its _boring_ to me. I can't even hold your hand and you act like you're gonna catch fire if you hug me for more than a second. Tara's not gonna care if we're together."_

_"She's only kissed _one_ guy before."_

_Opie shrugged. "So?"_

_Sarah walked towards him, sitting at the foot of her bed next to him. "That was it, Harry. She's never even held hands or hugged any boy but you or Jax and you guys are like her brothers. Stacy's going with Pierce. Randall asked Stephanie and Maize is….well _a lot _of guys asked her. Ima, too. Everyone is going to have a date except Tara. Nobody wants to ask her because they're either scared she'll flip out on them or they don't like her because she acts too much like….well a _boy. _I don't want her to feel left out."_

_"She can go with Jax," Opie argued. "We can all four go together."_

She made a vow to me that doesn't _allow _that, _Sarah thought to herself—fuming in silence at the mere suggestion._

_Sarah rolled her eyes. "Jackson isn't going to the dance. He _never _goes to any school events. He thinks they're lame."_

_"So we go just the three of us," Opie said. "I'm telling you, Tara won't care. It's not like she doesn't know I like you. She kicked the table on purpose when we were all playing spin the bottle. She _knew_ I wanted to kiss you." Sarah looked down at the space between them, frowning at the thousand thread count comforter on her bed. "Sarah...Do you…._You don't want to be my girlfriend anymore?"

_Sarah head snapped up, gray eyes wide. "_Of course I do!_ I like being with you. Its….its _nice_."_

_Smiling at her, he reached for her hand, stroking the edge of her palm with his thumb._

_"Even though they're not together anymore there's one thing I learned from them," Opie admitted quietly. He shrugged his shoulder as pink tinted his cheeks slightly. "Well….it wasn't just my folks. Its the club, too. Gemma and JT….and all the other Old ladies and club brothers…even the girls they call croweaters. Even when they fight you can always tell they're a family. Good or bad, they never hide they feel about each other. That's how I know you're supposed to show when you care about someone. It's nothing wrong with other people knowing. You're not supposed to be afraid. When you love someone its wrong to hide it."_

"You…." _Sarah's eyes ballooned, shock parting her lips—the O-shape of her mouth frozen on her face as her eyelashes fluttered, the only movement in her body other than the sudden rapid rise and fall of her chest. "Harry—"_

_Opie squeezed her hand, nodding. _"I love you, Sarah," _he confessed. "And I don't care if Jax _or _Tara gives me crap about it. They won't though, I promise. Tara's not going to treat you any different. Even if she _does _get jealous that you have a boyfriend first it doesn't matter. She's your best friend and she loves you just as much as I do. And _Jax….._well he can't really talk about me. I know you probably haven't noticed but he's had a crush on—"_

_"_You _love _me?" _Sarah breathed, shutting her eyes slowly as she spoke. _

_Opie squeezed her hand again as he realized she couldn't see him nodding. _

_"I mean it, Sarah," Opie promised. "And you know it's not because I want to….you know…because I want to _hang out _with you because we're already doing that. I don't want to stop doing that either though. The only thing I want to change is all the secrets. I don't get why it's so exciting to you. Even if I read that book you borrowed from your mom—"_

_"She's _not _my mom—"_

_Opie slid closer to her. "I know," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't mean it that way. I just don't want to hide anymore. And I know you won't believe me but it's not because I want to brag about it to him. I _hate _lying to my best friend. Me and Jax tell each other everything. Don't you feel bad about lying to Tara?"_

_"You _love _me," Sarah repeated, her lips twitching at the corners as she zoned out._

_Was this what it was supposed to feel like?_

_Her father _showed _her in the only way he knew how even though she couldn't ever remember hearing him say the actual words._

_The only other person who'd ever told her they loved her was Tara._

_But that was different._

_Tara was her best friend—her sister. _

_Sarah Hale didn't have anything to compare it to…..except Jax._

_The butterflies in her stomach every time he flashed that lopsided grin at her when he called her _Darlin. _The nerves rattling her, rocking through her body when she'd almost said the very words his best friend had just said to her._

_Being with Harry was nice._

_Sarah loved the way he made her feel like she was the only girl in the room—the only _person _even when someone else was talking to him. She loved when he pulled her aside, unable to resist sneaking in a few quick kisses before gym let out and the rest of class flooded the basement of their Junior high school, swarming towards the locker rooms to change out of their uniforms. She loved the way he smiled at her through the mirror when he sat behind her on her bed, completely content with watching her stress over what outfit to where for school tomorrow without even the slightest hint of boredom when she knew most guys would complain because they'd come over for something else. Most of all, she loved that he _loved _her—he loved _her _and he wasn't afraid to tell everyone about it. There were so many things Sarah Hale loved about the young boy sitting on her bed, holding her hand._

_But she didn't love _him.

_Not yet, at least—but she could, couldn't she?_

_Sometimes true love took time didn't it? Maybe Jax was just the silly first crush girls always had when they were younger. Maybe the _Prince _of Charming was really a frog and his best friend the ever-patient Pauper always by his side was the real man fit for the crown. Sarah had no way of knowing for sure._

_All she knew was that she didn't want to stop hanging out with him—she wasn't ready to step back from the warmth of his embrace, the admiration, the confidence and comfort she always felt when she was with him. And if admitting to everyone that she was girlfriend was the only price she had to pay she was finally ready to pay the toll because she'd be stupid to ruin what she had._

_Jax didn't love her._

_His best friend did._

_And if she couldn't be with the boy she loved, she'd love the one who was happy to be with her, the one who would always love her back for as long as it took for her to feel the same way._

_She'd love him eventually._

_She knew she could._

_"_Yes," _Opie swore, brushing his hand across her face. "I _love _you."_

_Placing her hand on his shoulder, she leaned in towards him. He met her half-way, fingers tangling in the softness of her honey-blonde curls as she coaxed his mouth open against hers. Sarah kissed him with all the passion she could find, silently hoping it was more than enough to offset the lack of reciprocation she felt—her inability to tell him honestly, that she loved him too._

_Her efforts proved successful when she felt the hand caressing her face fly down to grip her waist, gently guiding her onto his lap as he slid further onto her bed, eventually lying on his back as she fell against him, nails lightly scaling up and down his chest as they kissed._

_They were so lost in each other they hardly noticed footsteps approaching the threshold of her bedroom where her room door had remained open when Ope had been so caught up in the beautiful, powder blue dress she wore to remember to shut the door all the way behind him._

"_Oh good _God," _Gloria Hale hissed. "Like _mother _like daughter."_

_The disgusted woman was too busy sneering at the young couple on the bed in the middle of the room to notice the puzzled expression on her son David's face as he tried to decipher whether or not she'd _meant _to insult _herself _when she dissed his younger sister._

_"I was just showing him my dress," Sarah explained, immediately standing up from the bed as Opie sat up. _

_Gloria smirked. "And what's underneath too, I'm sure," she commented. "Well I hope you had fun, kid because the Peep show is over. Your father's downstairs waiting for you. Outside the gate actually. He's not driving that clunker into my yard. I have a living room full of chickens eager to start clucking about any gossip they get ahold of. Bad enough _this _one has people talking about us. I'm starting to sense all those sleepovers at _Tara's _house weren't really with Tara."_

_David nudged her arm. "Mom!"_

_"Alright, alright," Gloria gushed. "I already told you you're not going to be late for your practice. I have book club, Baby but your father's on his way now. It's his turn to—"_

_"Opie," David said, dismissing his mother with a shake of his head. "You gotta go man. Something happened with Thomas. Tara's on her way to the hospital with Jax now. I heard Stacy's mom talking about it downstairs. They're going to St. Thomas right now."_

_"What?" Sarah gasped. "Is Tommy okay?"_

_Opie didn't ask a single question as he pushed past them all, rushing down the stairs—racing down the Hale's front lawn, slamming the button to open the gate. Piney was already turning the truck around when he'd seen him approaching. He gave his son only long enough to get every major body part inside before he peeled off from the curb, putting the pedal to the metal as he rushed towards the hospital._

_Neither one of them noticed Judge Jacob Hale's shiny, black car driving past them._

_And they were already gone when Sarah shoved past her brother, knocking David's gym bag out of his hand as she barreled into her father begging him to take her to the hospital _before _Davey's baseball practice so she could check on Thomas Teller—and his older brother._

* * *

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"Donna, _calm down."_

"ARE YOU FUCKIN KIDDING ME?" Donna shrieked, glaring at him.

Opie stood up from his bed. "Are you going to let me explain?"

Donna shook her head, reaching for her jeans—yanking them up her legs.

"You said you were with _Lowell_,_"_ Donna accused. "You lied to me, Opie. I don't need you to explain shit to me."

"I'm sorry, Baby." Donna jumped back away from his touch like it burned. "But I didn't know what else to say. I didn't want you—"

"—_storming over there to disturb you?"_ Donna challenged. She nodded her head, her smile sharp as she steeled her eyes on his strained expression. "I get it, Ope. You didn't want me interrupting your goodbye _fuck _with your ex-girlfriend. All this talk about _clarity…_how Tara's accident would probably be the one thing that got your brother to pull his head out of his ass and admit he loves her and the whole time you were talking about _yourself. _I bet if Sarah thought snorting coke and crashing her car would get Jax to realize he loves her would work she'd do it _again_—and probably _kill _Tara this time!"

"It's not like that Donna," Opie argued, grabbing her shirt off the floor before she could reach for it. "It's not like that _at all."_

Donna snatched it from him, pulling it over her head before crossing her arms, mistrust marring her features. "What was it like then, Huh? _Why _would you even go see her? I don't _care _if it was just to say goodbye to her. Why bother? I thought you didn't care about her. I _know_ she doesn't give a shit about _you. _Why even make the effort?"

Opie scrubbed a hand across his face. "You _know _why," he muttered against his palm.

"You're a lying piece of _shit." _Angry tears welled up in her eyes as she glowered at him, a quite rage humming in the air. She was a teapot seconds away from whistling as the steam built up in her chest. "This _whole _time….you kept telling me I was overreacting."

"I didn't _want _you to feel threatened by her," Opie urged. "It doesn't matter how I feel about _her. _That shit doesn't compare to you. It never did. And being with you I never even thought about her once."

"That's _sweet," _Donna hissed. "I was the distraction. You're _timeout _while she was sluttin it up at whatever boarding school her parents shipped her off to."

Opie shook his head hard, reaching for her again.

It only hurt just a little more when she shoved his arms away.

"Do you still love her?" Donna asked, her voice small.

"Donna, it's _done," _Opie answered. "She's gone. She's not coming back and even if she did it wouldn't matter because—"

Donna held up a hand, her eyes squinting shut as she shrieked, "_Do you…_love her? It's a simple question, Opie."

"I really wish the answer was simple, too."

Donna's eyes flew open, widening as she took several steps back from him. "I _cannot _believe this."

"Donna, I love _you," _Opie told her, rushing forward to close the gap between them.

"You love _HER!" _Donna barked.

Shrugging his shoulders, he shook his head as he gripped her wrist tight enough to hold her in place without hurting her. _"I love you more."_

"Are you kidding me, Opie?" Donna growled. "You think that makes it better? How could you think that would be enough?"

"IT'S MORE THAN I EVER GOT!"

Donna shoved him hard against his chest. "If she wasn't leaving….you'd be with her instead of me—"

"No I wouldn't—"

"—I'm not _you, _Opie! Second place isn't gonna—"

"YOU'RE NUMBER _ONE!" _Opie bellowed. "One and _only. _She could come back tomorrow and it wouldn't change a goddamn thing. I want to be with _you, _not Sarah."

"_Because she doesn't love you_," Donna accused. "And you know what that makes me? I'm the understudy….the backup….your consolation prize….your_ Plan B. _I'm nobody's fuckin Plan B."

"You're _not," _Opie argued, sighing heavily. "Jesus Christ, Donna. I'm being honest with you. I could have lied. Today was the first time I ever did and I've felt like shit ever since. I'm being _honest. _Doesn't that matter at all?"

"Sure it does," Donna answered, nodding. "At least now I can walk away and still have a little respect for you."

Opie shook his head. "You're not walking away from me."

"_I'm done."_

"I can apologize until I'm blue in the face about all the shit I _shouldn't _feel…about all the shit I don't _want _to feel," Opie said. "It won't change a damn thing….and I can't help that. All I can do is _tell _you how I feel, Donna. I need you to focus on how I feel about _you _because that's the only thing that should matter."

"It doesn't."

"_I love you," _Opie told her.

Donna shrugged, walking past him. "I don't care anymore."

Opie reached for her, jerking her around. "YOU _DO C_ARE!" he yelled at her. "You might not want to right now but you do…._you can't help it."_

"Nice." Donna smirked. "I see what you did there. That was really cute, Opie." She reached for his face, thumb brushing across his cheek as she lightly gripped his chin, rising on the tips of her toes. Briefly, the tips of their noses touched before she slipped her lips past his waiting mouth to whisper in his ear. "_Not as cute as my _ass _is though. _Feel free to watch it while I'm walking out the door._" _Stepping back to look at him, there wasn't a teardrop in sight, her eyes never leaving his face she walked backwards towards his bedroom door. "I mean it, Opie. _I'm done."_

* * *

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_As soon as the Emergency room doors slid open, Tara's head snapped up. She was already running out of the main lobby towards him, barreling into Piney as he hugged her, brushing the hairs sticking to her face from the tears streaming down them. _

_"We were only gone for two minutes," Tara sobbed against his chest. "I don't know what happened—" _

_"_Shhhh…_everything is going to be okay," Piney told her, kissing the top of her head._

_"They won't let us go in with him," Tara explained. "We're minors so we have to wait for Gemma or JT….or maybe…you? You think they'll let us go in with you? He's _soooo _scared Piney. And the stupid security guard took Jackson away. Jackson hit the doctor when he told him he couldn't go in with Tommy."_

_"You can go in," Piney promised, waving the doctor approaching them over._

_"Are you Thomas' father?" The young intern asked._

_"_Godfather_," Piney corrected. "I'm sure Gemma has it listed somewhere that I always look out for her boys when her and JT aren't around. Where the Hell is my _other _Godson? You want to tell me why security guards are holding a twelve year old kid—"_

_"Sir, he assaulted a—"_

_"HE'S A TWELVE YEAR OLD KID!" Piney barked. "He's scared shitless because his brother's heart is tweaking and not for the first time either! He _always _looks out for that little boy. How'd you expect him to react when you told him he couldn't be with his brother? _My_ family doesn't like being separated."_

_"I understand, Sir but—"_

_"_Good." _Piney nodded stiffly. "Now that we're on the same page bring Jackson back here _now. _Then take us to Thomas."_

_Opie followed in silence, fighting back his own tears—nearly losing the battle when he saw red rimming Jax's eyes when he turn the corner, meeting them halfway in the hallway outside of Thomas' hospital room._

_"Don't be alarmed by all the wires," Dr. Altman told Tara and Piney. She smiled encouragingly at Jax who was all too familiar but what he was about to see. "I didn't want to wait to do the EKG. Thomas is stable...for now. We'll talk about the new development in his condition when your mom gets here, Jackson."_

_The three of them followed behind her, zeroing in on the little boy with multi-colored cords sticking to his chest, his arms, and legs._

_"_Jackie boy," _Thomas mumbled, frowning when the nurse knocked his hands down as he reached towards them. "_Tara!"

"_Hey Buddy," Jax said, ruffling his hair. Tara leaned against Jax's shoulder, Opie's arm touching hers, and Piney his as they all stood there, huddled together,smiling down at the little boy looking up at them drowsily. _

_"You look like a puppet," Opie teased, fingering one of the cords, completely oblivious to the disapproving look the nurse gave him or the shrug Dr. Altman cast her, rolling her eyes at how detached and cold the elder woman was being to a room full of children. _

_"A very cute puppet," Tara declared._

_"Tara thinks I'm _cute _Jackie boy," Thomas said, turning towards his big brother. "_I _told_ ya!_"_

_A chorus of laughter erupted in the room—even the nurse cracking a smile._

_"I told you, you're my favorite," Tara reminded him, giggling when Jax playfully elbowed her in her side. _

_But the mirth died right along with their smiles when the monitor beside his bed began beeping loudly, ringing in their ears as little Thomas' eyes slid shut._

_"Tommy?" Jax shook him, smacking the nurse's hand away when he tried to discourage the action. "THOMAS!"_

_"What's happening?" Tara asked, her voice every bit as shrill as the blare of the machine._

"Quit acting like we're not standing here," _Piney growled. "What the Hell is going on, Doc?"_

_"_Shit," _Opie hissed. His arms flew out, immediately gripping Jax's shoulders hard, holding him steady as he looked at his brother, panic frozen in the blues of eyes as he waited for his little brother to answer him._

_Dr. Altman was a lot gentler with pushing Jax aside, sharp eyes flitting back and forth between her hands prodding Thomas' abdomen, the Stethoscope she quickly pressed against his tiny chest, and whatever she was reading on the monitor._

_"We can't wait for his mother." Dr. Altman looked up at the nurse. "Page, Bailey. No you know what—she's probably already on her way up here. Tell her Mrs. Wilson surgery is going to have to wait," she instructed, pulling the railing to his bed up as she pulled him from the room where two other nurses had already appeared, standing by waiting for instruction. "I need someone to page Robbins _right now,"_ the doctor demanded, rushing down the hallway with Piney, Opie, and Tara running alongside her. "You guys can't come past this point. I'm sorry. I promise I'll send someone out to update you as soon as I can."_

_It wasn't until the double doors snapped shut in their faces that Opie realized Jax wasn't with them._

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_Tara never let go of Jax's hand the whole time she cried against Piney's shoulder. It wasn't until she'd finally drifted off to sleep that her fingers fell from the tangle it was in between his. _

_Opie sat on the other side of him, biting his lip hard to keep from taking Tara's lead. Instead of crying, he palmed his best friend's shoulder, squeezing it every so often until he looked up at him—awareness and appreciation swirling in the blues of his eyes even as Jax failed to return his smile of support and encouragement every time he tried._

_Dr. Altman had kept her word._

_By the time Gemma and Luann came rushing through the lobby she'd sent out the intern assisting her in surgery to update them, let them know that the angioplasty was a success and she, herself would be there with more detail as soon as Thomas was back in his room—completely stable. _

_He saw her before her foot even entered the lobby._

_Her honey-blonde hair flapping in the breeze behind her as she sprinted towards the spot where they stood—crowded around the young doctor giving them the good news._

_Sarah's arms were already outstretched—eliciting the raising of his own as she drew closer._

_But when she finally made it, it wasn't Opie she hugged._

_It was Jax._

_She flung her arms around, kissing tear-stained cheek—completely oblivious to everyone else around her, even the green-eyed brunette still holding onto Jax's hand._

_"It's gonna be okay, Jax," Sarah said, her voice just above a whisper. "Whatever happens I'm here for you, Okay? I'm always going to be here."_

_Opie smiled at her, ignoring the pang in his chest as he watched Sarah hold him. _

_They were all best friends—the four of them. _

_Of course they'd always be there for each other._

_Opie just wished he wasn't so afraid to admit that he need Sarah there for _him _right now._

_And even more than that, he wished she already knew without him ever saying a word._

_The way Tara did when she let go of Jax's hand, pulling Opie into a hug just as he shut his eyes against the tears that were finally about to win. _

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts?<strong>

Let me know what you're thinking folks. Feedback on this will help me decide **which** direction to go during Opie's arc in the next chapter of _**Uncharming**._I decided to finish this chapter first for that very reason. I'll work around his part of the plot, writing the other sections of **CH59** while I wait for your thoughts on this.

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